11 Facts About Paul Peck

Paul Peck spent most of his childhood in Hinton, West Virginia.

Paul Peck began flying lessons in 1911 and learned to fly in seven days.

Paul Peck apparently landed a plane in Raleigh County, West Virginia, in 1911, probably becoming the first person to fly an airplane over West Virginia.

In 1911, Paul Peck became one of the first flight instructors at the United States Army Signal Corps flight school at College Park Airport in College Park, Maryland, which went on to become the oldest continuously operating airport in the world.

Paul Peck set altitude records and flew planes designed by Rex Smith Aeroplane Company, serving as a test pilot for the company.

Paul Peck designed and built his own airplane, the Peck Columbian, a pusher biplane with a Gyro Motor Company 50-horsepower engine driving a single propeller at 1,200 to 1,500 revolutions per minute.

In September 1911, Paul Peck became the first pilot to carry air mail in official United States Post Office flights.

Paul Peck's second fight, at Garden City, New York, was the first for which a US Post Office was established specifically to handle air mail.

In September 1912, Paul Peck travelled to Chicago, Illinois, to participate in the Second Chicago International Air Meet and represent the United States in the 1912 Gordon Bennett Trophy race, scheduled to take place as part of the air meet.

In 1911, Paul Peck married Ruth Owens, a young woman from Washington, DC, where the couple made their home.

In 1979, Paul Peck's last living descendants presented a commemorative plaque in his memory to Greenbrier Valley Airport outside Lewisburg, West Virginia.